Homeowners' Association Won't Let Girl With Cancer Have A Playhouse In Her Yard

It's little Ella's Make-a-Wish Foundation dream.

Little Ella Joe Schultz's main wish in life is to beat cancer. But her second wish is to get her very own playhouse. And after a valiant effort by the Make-a-Wish foundation, she was about to get one – until her homeowners association stepped in.

KCTV reports that the Stonegate Homeowners Association in Kansas blocked the construction of a custom playhouse in Ella's backyard. The Make-a-Wish Foundation had worked with the construction company J.E. Dunn for the structure, which would match Ella's family home down to the roof shingles. But the proposal went against the association's covenants.

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"She's earned this — she deserves it," her father, Pete Schultz, told the Kansas City Star. "She can't get out and play with other kids. This playhouse is what she would have. Is it really going to hurt someone?"

The rejection sparked an immediate backlash online, around the hashtag #SaveEllasWish. Neighbors are even painting their mailboxes and porches green in solidarity with the Schultz family. And it looks like people are calling board members, since the association's website deleted contact information Wednesday.

In a statement posted on their website, the Stonegate Homeowners Association says they're doing everything they can to work on a compromise:

"Our hearts are with Ella Schultz and her family as they battle this terrible illness. Our homeowners' association board is committed to working with Make-A-Wish Foundation and J.E. Dunn to see if we can figure out a way to make Ella's wish come true. The initial request from Make-A-Wish to place a barn-style shed was not accepted because the board did not have enough information to grant an exception to the subdivision's covenants. In hopes of getting enough information, we are requesting an immediate meeting with Make-A-Wish and J.E. Dunn Construction to work out a solution in the most expeditious manner possible."

Ella is now back at University of Kansas Hospital fighting a fever and an infection. If you'd like to help support her, loved ones have set up a GoFundMe page to help with her family's expenses.